Fewer catalogs but still plenty in mail

PORTLAND, Maine — Catalog shopper Kerry Falagario would be hard-pressed to tell that there's been a decrease in catalog circulation. They're coming fast and furious this time of the year: catalogs from specialty tool companies for her husband, who likes to tinker; American Eagle, Justice, Delia's and Body Central for her daughters, ages 8 and 14; and Pottery Barn or others with a focus on home decorations for herself.

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By DAVID SHARP

southcoasttoday.com

By DAVID SHARP

Posted Nov. 25, 2012 at 12:01 AM

By DAVID SHARP
Posted Nov. 25, 2012 at 12:01 AM

» Social News

PORTLAND, Maine — Catalog shopper Kerry Falagario would be hard-pressed to tell that there's been a decrease in catalog circulation. They're coming fast and furious this time of the year: catalogs from specialty tool companies for her husband, who likes to tinker; American Eagle, Justice, Delia's and Body Central for her daughters, ages 8 and 14; and Pottery Barn or others with a focus on home decorations for herself.

"Just the other day, I had five. There wasn't even enough room for my mail," said Falagario, describing the stuffed roadside mailbox outside her suburban Gorham home.

Despite the flood around the holidays, annual catalog circulation by retailers has actually dipped substantially because of a postage increase, a weak economy and more shoppers making purchases online. Nearly a third fewer catalogs are mailed than were four years ago.

L.L. Bean, the Freeport-based outdoors retailer, is among those that have scaled back page counts and become choosier about who gets its catalogs. Bean's catalog circulation has been relatively flat for the past few years, but the number of catalog pages declined 20 percent from last year, the company said.

Steve Fuller, L.L. Bean's marketing chief, sees the trend accelerating but he doesn't see catalogs going away anytime soon. That's because catalogs and online sales are intertwined, with catalogs serving as a tool to get customers' attention and to motivate them to make purchases, often online.

"People are using catalogs diffThe precipitous drop in mailings followed a 23 percent average postage increase in 2007 for the category that includes standard-sized catalogs.

From fiscal 2008 to fiscal 2012, catalog volume is estimated to have dropped by about 5.6 billion catalogs to about 12 billion, a decline of 32 percent, though the trend appears to be flattening, said Jonathan Leon, manager of catalogs for the U.S. Postal Service.